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Tuesday, February 14, 2012
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Seven Senate Republicans -- Norm Coleman, Susan Collins, Chuck Hagel, Gordon Smith, Olympia Snowe, John Warner, and George Voinovich -- are threatening to hold up Senate business until Warner's resolution opposing President Bush's planned troop buildup "gets a vote, saying they will try to attach the measure to future legislation," the Los Angeles Times reports. While their warning "does not guarantee the Senate will vote any time soon" on the resolution, "it may further complicate Senate debate on the war." The Washington Post, in a front-page report, says the group, "who earlier this week helped block deliberations" on the resolution, "changed course yesterday and vowed to use every tactic at their disposal to ensure a full and open debate." Roll Call says the announcement "followed a day of angry and increasingly partisan recriminations between Senate Democrats and Republicans over who was to blame for the collapse of a planned debate on Iraq."
In his Washington Post column, Robert Novak writes that while "the White House was overjoyed" by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's efforts to prevent a vote, he made the GOP "look obstructionist," and "Tuesday's headlines indicated a public relations fiasco for Republicans." Democratic Sen. Jim Webb said on MSNBC's Hardball, "Honestly, I think right now the Republican leadership just does not want a vote because they know they're going to lose."
House Strips Down Language Meanwhile in the House, the AP reports Democratic leaders "coalesced Wednesday around a stripped-down measure that disapproves of President Bush's decision to send more forces to Iraq and declares support for the troops, according to party aides who said a vote was likely next week." Democrats hope for bipartisan support, and House Republican Conference Chairman Adam Putnam "conceded some members of the GOP rank-and-file would likely break ranks." USA Today says the "question is how broad a bipartisan majority the resolution will attract."
The Hill says Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer want a "clean and simple resolution opposing President Bush's troop surge while supporting the soldiers in Iraq," but that may not be enough for some in their party. The New York Times reports 71 House Democrats "signed a statement urging Congress to take a stronger stance against the war, including setting a six-month timetable for withdrawing American forces from Iraq."
Gates: Surge Results Visible In Months The AP reports Defense Secretary Robert Gates "told a House panel Wednesday that the US should know in a few months if the Iraqi government is making progress toward peace and whether the United States 'is going to have to look at other alternatives and consequences.'" The Washington Times reports Gates also "said Congress doesn't endanger troop morale by voting on nonbinding resolutions opposing President Bush's Iraq reinforcement plan," comments "in stark contrast to arguments made by Republicans."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's effort to arrange for a secure military airplane, first noted skeptically in the conservative Washington Times, has begun to attract critical attention from other media outlets. As the second person in the line of presidential succession, the Speaker is accorded use of a military plane. However, Pelosi has raised the hackles of GOP critics by seeking the use of a much larger aircraft than that used by Hastert. McClatchy says the controversy is "a potential image problem for the first female speaker," who is being "portrayed as thinking she deserves her own Air Force Three."
The CBS Evening News reported the story "has Washington buzzing tonight. At a time when they're cracking down on congressional perks, the new Speaker of the House is apparently asking for a big travel upgrade." Pelosi is "reportedly asking for a much bigger jet, a government version of the Boeing 757 that can make the trip between Washington and her San Francisco home without stopping to refuel. The Speaker's critics have dubbed it 'Pelosi One.' Military officials are said to be grumbling about it and the Speaker finds herself on the defensive. Today she insisted size doesn't really matter." Said Pelosi, "It's not a question of size, it's a question of distance. We want an aircraft that can reach California."
The Washington Times reports the Department of Defense "sent a letter to...Pelosi that puts limits on the size of the plane she may use to travel across the country and restricts the guests she can bring, The Washington Times has learned." A congressional source "who read the letter signed by Assistant Secretary of Defense Robert Wilkie said it essentially limits her to the commuter plane used by former Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, which requires refueling to travel from Washington to Mrs. Pelosi's San Francisco district."
The Los Angeles Times reports Pelosi's "people say she just wants to get home to California now and then and would like to do it in a plane that can make it all the way without stopping to refuel." But Pelosi's "conservative critics say the San Francisco Democrat is abusing the perks of power by attempting to commandeer a fancy jumbo-size military jet with a 'distinguished visitor compartment with sleep accommodations.'"
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NBC Washington Bureau chief and host of Meet the Press Tim Russert testified in the trial of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby on Wednesday, contradicting Libby's claim about a conversation that plays a crucial role in special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's case. NBC Nightly News reported Russert was a "key witness." Russert's "testimony is pivotal to the prosecution because it contradicts what Libby said to a grand jury." And ABC World News called Russert's appearance "crucial testimony,"
The New York Times reports Russert, "whose signature technique in interrogating officials on his television program includes confronting them with documents and texts of previous quotes, found the technique used on him. A defense lawyer displayed documents on a large television screen in the courtroom as he challenged Mr. Russert's recollection of events." The Washington Post says, however, that Russert "emerged relatively unscathed yesterday, except for a previously acknowledged memory lapse about a phone call unrelated to the Libby case. But it was a long afternoon for someone who much prefers asking the questions." The AP, Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times and Financial Times run additional stories on the testimony.
The Wall Street Journal meanwhile, reports that also yesterday in court, "Libby's taped testimony revealed that in 2003, as controversy ensued over the Wilson criticism, Mr. Cheney ordered Mr. Libby to leak portions of an intelligence report, which said that Iraq 'vigorously' sought to procure uranium for its weapons program, to The Wall Street Journal."
The New York Times reports this morning Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad said "previously undisclosed behind-the-scenes bipartisan budget talks with the administration had collapsed because of comments by Vice President Dick Cheney and others in the administration." Conrad also "accused the administration of undercutting the possibility of talks by refusing to signal a willingness to compromise on taxes to save Social Security and Medicare or to balance the budget in the years ahead." Roll Call and the Financial Times also run stories on both parties' possible strategies on the upcoming budget debate, but do not report on the talks.
The Wall Street Journal reports House Democrats are "preparing a $1 billion package of small-business tax breaks to be paired with an increase in the federal minimum wage, hoping to break a stalemate with the Senate over one of their top legislative priorities. In doing so, the House is likely to avoid many of the revenue increases passed by the Senate in its small-business tax package, increases that have caused heartburn for business groups and lawmakers in both parties."
President Bush visited Shenandoah National Park in Virginia yesterday to promote his proposed boost in national parks funding. ABC World News ran a short segment on the visit, and newspapers across the nation gave the President's plan generally positive coverage. Stories in the Harrisonburg Daily News Record, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Rocky Mountain News and Beacon Journal, for example, carry quotes from park officials praising the presidential initiative.
However, McClatchy and AP note House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rep. Nick Rahall criticized the proposal, saying "the new funding is largely the result of shifting money from existing important park programs, such as construction, into a new budget column with a new label."
National newspapers, meanwhile, hinted at a cynical explanation for Bush's interest in national parks. The New York Times, in a story titled "The President Shows His Environmentalist Colors," says that "at a time when his policies on global warming are under scrutiny from environmentalists," Bush "this week cloaked himself in another environmental issue: conservation." And the Washington Post notes the White House spokesman had to challenge "the notion that the administration's interest in the parks -- and the environment more generally -- marks a change for the president. [Tony] Snow noted that last year Bush created the largest protected marine reserve in the world when he set aside as a national park an island chain spanning 1,400 miles of the Pacific northwest of Hawaii."
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The Washington Post reports the railroad industry "is hiring relatives of Capitol Hill lawmakers and staff members as it faces tighter federal safety legislation, employing a tactic untouched by the Democrats' new ethics proposals: lobbying by congressional family members." Railroad companies "are now working to keep their GOP allies but also hiring Democratic lobbyists."
Fox Special Report reported that when Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice appeared before a House panel, "several lawmakers drove the hearing to some unusual places. New York Democrat Gary Ackerman asked why Rice isn't hiring multi-lingual homosexuals, supposedly fired from the Defense Department because of their sexual orientation." Meanwhile, California Democrat Brad Sherman "likened US visa controls to admissions at an amusement park," saying, "The federal government is in a worse position than Disney Land. They know when you buy the ticket and they scan you when you leave."
In a Washington Times op-ed, a retired CIA analyst writing under the pseudonym John Smith says, "In 1983, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy offered to help the Soviets mount a public-relations offensive in the United States. This propaganda attack would target President Reagan and his policies. These are the same policies that eventually ended the Cold War and reduced the possibility of nuclear annihilation." Smith concluded that if "there is any shred of truth in these documented stories," Kennedy "should resign or be kicked out of the Senate or Congress."
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Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) gave his first major speech on the economy yesterday, speaking at the Detroit Economic Club, and offered a solidly conservative fiscal program, calling for tax cuts and free trade. The AP reports Romney "said President Bush's tax cuts, set to expire in 2010, should be permanent. And to reverse a negative national savings rate, he said individuals should be able to save $5,000 a year without paying taxes on interest, dividends or capital gains." The Detroit News adds that Romney "touted permanent federal tax cuts, free trade and 'fundamental reforms' to rein in spending -- views that got a friendly reception from the audience of business leaders. His resume includes the taming of a huge budget deficit with frugal fiscal policies while governor of Massachusetts." The Detroit Free Press reported that Romney "rejected what he predicted would be a 'growing clamor for protectionism,' which Romney said 'might work for a few years but would virtually guarantee we become a second class economy' in two decades."
Some are speculating that the speech marks a shift in tactics for Romney. The Salt Lake Tribune reports that Romney, who "initially cast himself as a traditional-values Republican," is now "styling himself as the heir to President Ronald Reagan's legacy of tax cuts. 'It makes far more strategic sense for him to focus on economic issues now than to try to continually explain his shifts on social issues,' said Tony Fabrizio, a Republican consultant. 'You play to your candidate's strengths, not try to create a strength that turns into a vulnerability.'"
Two states thought to be moving out of the battleground category following the 2004 presidential elections look like they might again be competitive. The White House Bulletin reported yesterday, "Many in the GOP had thought that Florida had moved solidly into the GOP's column following President Bush's vastly improved showing there in 2004. However," a poll out yesterday from Quinnipiac University "shows that the Sunshine State may again be a key presidential battleground in 2008. The poll shows that in trial heats, Sen. Hillary Clinton is extremely competitive with the GOP frontrunners. The poll, which surveyed 1,003 likely voters between January 29 and February 3, shows Rudy Giuliani leading Clinton 47%-44%, while Clinton leads Sen. John McCain, 47%-43%. ... Clinton isn't the only Democrat running well in Florida; the poll also showed McCain holding a narrow 42%-40% lead over Sen. Barack Obama and a 43%-42% lead over John Edwards."
Another Quinnipiac University poll out this morning also suggests that a state that had been trending the Democrats' way may be moving back into play. A poll of 1,014 likely Pennsylvania voters taken February 1-5 shows both McCain and Giuliani holding tiny leads over Sen. Clinton in trial heats. McCain edges out the New York Senator 46%-45%, while Giuliani leads her 47%-44%. The survey also shows McCain faring well against other Democratic frontrunners he leads Obama 46%-39% and Edwards 47%-42%.
The AP reports today that a bill that would move California's presidential primary to February 5, two weeks after the New Hampshire primary, cleared a critical state Senate committee yesterday, clearing the way for the full Senate to act on it. California's move is being mirrored in a number of other large states, who are now seeking to have greater impact on the presidential nominating process.
A separate AP out today reports that it is not only the large states looking to get in on the game Wyoming's Republican Central Committee voted this weekend to hold its county conventions, which select half of its presidential delegates, the same day as the New Hampshire primary.
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Jay Leno: "Al Gore has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. How about that? That's pretty good, yeah. Believe me, that's that's one election he won't have any competition from George Bush."
Jay Leno: "Hey, some good news. Doctors say -- you know that 14-pound baby boy born that was born in Mexico last week? He's doing very well. He is now 18 pounds and living in Arizona."
Conan O'Brien: "Political experts are now saying that to win the presidency in 2008, a candidate has to get hot at the right time. Yeah, yeah. After hearing this, Bill Clinton said, 'Hillary's doomed.'"
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